Light and Dark
by ArcadiankingX
Summary: Slash, Yaoi, whatever you want to call it. Mg/C. Will have lemons, and references to rape. Not for the kiddies.
1. Another Beginning

Standard disclaimer: I don't own CT but I dare you to sue me, the only money I can give you is the money I owe, so feel free, I need to get rid of the debt somehow. Flames will be used to reduce heating bill so light me up one side and down the other. For those of you who are easily offended or close minded, you probably won't want to read this one, it will eventually have sex between two males. It will also tackle some tougher subjects. It starts out after Lavos is defeated normally and the ending "Moonlight Parade A" is obtained.

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Italics=thought.

Light and Dark

Despite the sun still up, they had stopped for the day, they were somewhere in the forest where Medina village would be in a few hundred years. It was still warm out, but they had already started a fire just so they wouldn't have to later. Magus watched from the shadows, he never neared the campfire. He wasn't even sure why he came on this trip. The mystic brushed a strand of long blue hair from his violet eyes, and shot a glance to the campfire. There was that foolish Marle, off in her own little world, if not sleeping despite the hour. The robot with a real heart, recharging, after a hard day spent trying to determine the probability of when Cronos mother had appeared after wandering stupidly after the kitten, right through the time portal. Glenn, now human, was staring into the campfire, probably thinking about his dead lover Cyrus. He had returned him to normal after they killed Lavos. Ayla, the savage stone age woman, Magus got along with her if only because she didn't talk as much as the others. Magus moved onto the next of the team. In his opinion, one of the more likable members of their ragtag team, caring, loving Lucca, with the silent leader resting his head in her lap. 

He felt a pang of jealousy for her, which was in no way lessened by his knowledge of her and Cronos completely platonic relationship. His eyes fell upon the glorious spiky haired redhead, held back by the bandana. Strong Crono, who never cried, and never faltered, and always dependable and ever silent. In his own way, magus mused to himself, that boy was the loudest. Speaking with his eyes, his hollow emerald colored eyes. False emotions, Magus knew, he knew because he too had hollow eyes. His emotions too were facsimiles . In a way, he felt he was the only one who could really understand the redhead, but even he didn't know the boys past. He knew that Lucca couldn't see past the mask, but she knew just the same when he was sad. He felt a tiny bit elated for that boy to have such a good and loyal friend, but once more, at the same time, jealous.

He turned to get a better look at the group. Crono had his head in Luccas lap, he wasn't crying, or anything, just looking into Luccas eyes. She was a genius, and even he admitted that she was an asset to the team. Magus knew that he might have grown attached to her, but he could throw those away whenever he needed to, those didn't matter to him. Magnus looked to the boy, he watched him closely, and his mask like eyes.

The silence was broken, and by that blond idiot.

"I know! Let's split up, we can cover more time periods then! " She yelped in her annoying high-pitched voice. The princess in her ever shear clothes that would be blue if they were thick enough to have a color. Lucca almost got angry. She had more than the right, but the lavender haired genius simply closed her eyes and crossed her arms under her breasts as she struggled to keep her anger in check.

"Listen Marle.. I'll go slow this time. We can't go to more than one time period at once. If something changes in one period it changes in all.. If we cause something to change in this time, it changes in our time and in the future. Suppose we accidentally cause a landslide that may cause an instantaneous change of ten tons crashing down on one of the groups." Lucca said in a low voice, clearly angry, but the princess simply seemed not to notice. Crono stood up and began to walk away, after shooting Lucca a look that said he wanted to be alone. The redhead walked off into the forest. Magus turned fully, and looked into Glen's eyes, the swordsman was staring at him now. He brushed his long hair out of his face with a gloved hand as he flashed his sharp canines, before disappearing into the shadows, after the katana-wielding warrior of light.

It took him less than a minute to catch up to the crimson spiked swordsman. He had traveled a great distance in such a short time, out of earshot from the group for the most part, it was perfectly quiet. No insects, which was strange. He looked into the lake, almost crystal clear, and showing the perfect reflection of the harvest moon. The katana nicknamed rainbow was sheathed and stuck into the ground, with its sword knot blowing in the slight win. Magus walked up quietly next to Crono, and sat down without a word. The mystic turned slightly, watching the swordsman out of the corner of his eye, he was looking over the lake. Crono slowly turned towards Magus, his false eyes seemed more real, and they were filled for once, with sadness, pure unmitigated sadness. Real, true, human emotions. Magus turned more, his hair falling in the way of his vision, but being quickly brushed away. He was elated that Crono might share something with him, a trust, but deflated at the same time, at the feelings and more importantly the memories that that look brought up. In his mind, he was a kid again, loosing his mother to Lavos, and his sister to the Mammon Machine. He looked deeply into Cronos eyes, suddenly captivated, wondering what gave him those eyes. He had not realized he had spoken out loud until he saw Crono seemingly analyzing him. 

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"What gave you those eyes." The words were soft.. 

Crono was more than a little surprised when Magus asked that question. He had not realized the elfish magician could see through the facade. Crono began to analyze the dark magician, to try and discover to what extent. 

_He can't possibly tell.. there's no way._ .The thoughts were traveling through the swordsman's head with dizzying speed. He kept his calm as he began to investigate the mystic more closely. His eyes met violet gaze that held him, almost froze him with its depth, he seemed to know all, certainly more about magic than the rest of them combined. He slowly thought back to what happened to Magus, what gave him the cold calculating eyes, which loathed the rest of the world. Crono didn't have it in him to hate the whole world, so instead he had hidden himself inside a world of content life, or at least what looked like one, only from the outside. 

Magus seemed to be waiting for an answer, but the swordsman knew he wasn't truly expecting it. He turned his head, to look back over the crystal Lake, and Magus followed suit. The pair sat there in silence till well after sunset. 

Crono looked over as he his ally move, he was crouched low, with his sickle tucked under his cape, ready for use as he watched the still dark forest. It was only barely lit by the false dawn. Magus wasn't tense, fluid, as always, but that meant something was approaching. The swordsman pulled the sheathe from the ground, and slid the scabbard in between his body and the tough cloth sash. He spun towards the bush, and his calloused hand went to the hilt of the katana, preparing to strike by baring an inch of the multicolored blade. The dangerous pair waited in absolute silence. He heard it come through the brush, and he reacted almost in sync with the blue haired mystic. He saw a slightly surprised Glen remaining absolutely still. The curved blade of the sickle went right along with the curve of the knight's neck. Right below Cronos katana. 

The red headed swordsman shared a secretive smile that passed by Glenn without so much as his notice. The slight shock wore off of Glen, who clearly hadn't expected to be ambushed anytime soon. His hand dropped off of the hilt of his double-edged sword.

"Everyone is looking for you two." He replied watching him, he had always been cautious about Magus. The weapons were put away, and Glenn relaxed. "You should head back.." The knight turned his head to look into Magus' eyes, making it near impossible for Crono to see either of their faces.

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The mystic was kind of surprised as the knight looked at him, he almost didn't hear the next words coming out of his mouth, they were so quiet. His old nemesis seemed to know all about him, even his hearing, so he didn't talk very loud.

"Magus, I need to talk to you." The knight said, his eyes intense and almost trying to burrow into Magus' mind, or so it seemed, but the blue haired pale man could keep his mind closed even to the most powerful psychics, and so this man had not a chance of finding out his secrets without his consent.

"Crono, I need to talk to Glenn, I'll meet you in camp." Normally, Magus never would have allowed this to go on, he usually didn't talk to Glenn, but there was just something about how serious he was this time. The red headed swordsman complied, turning and walking promptly into the forest, and Magus had full confidence in the redhead's skills.

"What is it Frog? " Magus said, tightening his glove on his right hand as he watched Glenn closely, the man didn't seem to care, that typically ruffled Glenn's feathers, this was something serious. He was even more shocked by what he heard next.

"I see you want to get right to the point tonight Magus. I can tell that you want Crono, and not just for a one time thing." Glen had his hand near his sword in case he had to save his own life, even though Magus was faster. He could almost see the shock on the vampire-like mans' face. "And I might be able to help you.. but I have to ask you to help me in favor" Magus frowned.

"I guess a favor for a favor is fair. " Magus said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against a tree, his eyes dropping as to not show his disappointment if it was something outside his power. "but your lovers too far gone to be brought back."

"Its not that.. I've come to terms with that already.. but.. If I help you with Crono.. you have to promise to help me with Lucca.." Glenn said, watching his rival for any sign. He got one in the form of a smirk.

"Why Glenn.. I had no idea you went after both.. and I'm guessing this had something to do with your desperate plea for me to remove my curse." Magus tightened his glove, and stood up fully, turning to face the knight before opening his eyes to meet Glenn's. "You've got yourself a deal Frog." 

As usual, his rival remained stoic to the name, but for the first time, the pair shook hands without the world in jeopardy. 


	2. The Hunted

Disclaimer: No, I don't own the characters, places, people, things or any other noun related to Chrono Trigger. 

A/N: Thanks for your reviews, and sorry for the pause, but I had to go to Wisconsin with my folks for the weekend, so I haven't been able to work on the fic. Just in case you haven't noticed for some reason, I do not like Marle, so I will bash her pretty bad. And last thing, anyone who thinks they have difficult or unusual couplings, let me know, I thrive on those. 

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italics=thought

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Chapter Two: The Hunted

The walk back to the camp site was an uneventful one, it even seemed there were fewer monsters around to keep warm on. Not that the monsters in the medieval Guardia Forest were a challenge, but dodging a bite or a sting was much easier than placing right after left as he walked quietly through the forest. Crono stopped, his hand resting on his katana, he could feel eyes on him, raising the hairs on the back of his neck.. The swordsman waited for a few heartbeats. The feeling dissipated, but the red-spiked warrior waited a little bit longer. The sensation brought back rather unpleasant memories, which would be sure to taunt him in his sleep. He dropped out of his fighting stance and kept his hand clasped tightly on the sheath of his blade in case the weapon was needed to be bared in great haste. He walked the rest of the distance calmly, but with his emotions cloaked in ice. 

Crono surveyed the camp. Marle had finally bored herself to sleep and Robo was still recharging. Lucca was sitting against the same tree, awake and waiting for her best friend. Even across the fire he could see the relief in her eyes. He gave her a reassuring grin and walked over to her. He sat down next to her.

"Crono, don't do that.. I was worried about you. I sent Glenn and Ayla out to find you, next time check in." She chided softly, before smiling fondly and tousling his already messy hair like he was a little kid. He laid down, resting his head on her leg gently. He closed his eyes, he was only slightly tired, but the heat from the bonfire lulled him to sleep before he knew it. 

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Crono opened his eyes. Something was wrong, no one was there with him. He looked around slowly, and noticed something. The forest.. he was in Guardia Forest.. and the trees were a lot bigger. He looked at his hands.. not again.. no.. He was seven again. Playing in the forest. He began to panic, and his hand flew to where his katana should have been. It was gone. He turned inward, trying to summon his magic, anything that could possibly protect him. He could find nothing. He began to run, towards the exit of the forest, but it seemed to stretch out further away from him with each step. He heard heavier footsteps, and in shear fear he began to try even harder. Strong hands grabbed his arms harshly. He was picked up off the ground and brought close to his assailants face. He could feel hot breath on his neck, smell the whiskey. He heard the voice. Not again.. no.. 

"Poor boy.. let me help.." A deep male voice whispered into his small ear. He felt the clothes being ripped from his small frame. Then... Pain...

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Crono shot up from Luccas lap, he was covered in a cold sweat and it had soaked through his clothes, his heart was pounding in his ears. He swallowed, forcing himself to calm down. For comfort, he grabbed the hilt of his katana, squeezing it until his knuckles turned white. He stood up slowly and looked around. He felt eyes upon him again. He suddenly turned, towards where he had felt the eyes earlier. He slowly began to walk away from the group. Lucca, Glenn and Marle were sleeping already, Robo was still recharging, but he would be done soon and Ayla was keeping watch, but she paid Crono no mind, knowing he could take care of himself. He continued walking, moving his hand down to the sheathe, getting ready to draw his sword. He was alone, far away from the group, and he still felt the presence. Even if he screamed, they might not hear. He suddenly heard rustling around him. His eyes became focused, his hand lowered onto the sword hilt, and he waited. Five people stepped from the woods around him. He quickly sized them all up.. none of them would go down easy, but he had an advantage on his side.

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A rapid movement caught his eye. The boy had awoken. The smell of fear permeated the clearing, coming from Crono. Magus looked at him from the shadow of the tree. The fear died down quickly, and even in the dark he could see the heavy breathing, and the sweat. Crono calmed down slowly, grasping his weapon as if it was a security blanket. Magus suddenly felt himself drawn to the boy, more than anything else now. The boy wandered off, and the mage considered following him, but decided against it, he could protect himself from anything they'd find in this forest. Magus stretched, and then stood up, he decided to go warm up on a few monsters. He crept away from the campsite, in a different direction than Crono. The boy wanted his privacy, and Magus could respect that. He stopped in a small clearing, there was something odd about it. Suddenly, the smell of smoke hit him. He looked closer, and saw a spot of charred grass. He moved closer, knelt down. He felt water as his knee pressed down. There was definitely something wrong. He slid a hand onto the haft of his sickle. He felt a sharp sting on his shoulder. Slowly he moved a hand up to it. The cause of his pain was a small feathered dart that had been shot into his shoulder. He pulled the dart out and looked at it. Dyed purple feathers and purple painted wood. He brought the tip to his nose. Among the scent of his blood was a sleep inducing toxin he recognized, and several other scents he didn't. Subconsciously, he was glad he almost always wore his full armor, and his gloom helm, but now, he had more pressing matters.

He. still kept his amulet near him, but he had the third eye equipped. Magus turned, preparing for battle as he sized up his opponents. There were three of them, two with swords and one with a blow dart gun . They looked decent enough fighters, and they had their scents covered up. The dark clothing was made to hide in the foliage. Suddenly, his eyes gravitated to the symbol over their heart. Two black snakes twined around a sword. They were mage hunters. The dark wizard met the eyes of the leader. He began to chant. He felt the power of lightning surge away from him, engulfing the clearing, but instead of the pain or shocks he expected, they simply charged through. They were wearing white vests. Magus put two and two together. They were going after Crono. Magus charged.

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Crono groaned. His muscles were aching, for some reason his magic was ineffective against these people. He had only felled one of them. A swordsman, but the rest were slowly wearing him down, he had no significant cuts, but he was starting to get sloppy. He barely raised his blade in time to block the slash to his left shoulder. He stepped to the side and twisted his blade. Crono felt a jolt as his sword hit flesh deep right under the ribs of the closest enemy. Two down, but the fight was far from over. Crono twisted, taking a step back and ducking low, barely dodging the slash that threatened to kill him. His eyes widened as pain lanced through his shoulder. He looked down, and a gleam caught his eye. A sword went all the way through his shoulder. He dropped his sword, he could no longer operate it. A boot slammed into his back, and he flew forward, he rolled twice before stopping. He looked at the three remaining fighters. The looked winded, but their grins had nothing to do with victory. Crono closed his eyes. He knew what was going to happen, but this time, he would be expecting it. Somehow, that just made it worse.

"He's a fighter.. this might be fun." He heard the voice coming nearer.

"They say the redheads are the best." 

"Yea.. " A noise of a machine echoed through the clearing, cutting the man off. Cronos eyes popped open. He caught the last blow of the Uzi punch, before the man was knocked from the clearing. A very recognizable sickle finished him off. Magus was suddenly between him and the two standing mage hunters.

"Robot.. get the boy on his feet. We'll need him. They're fools if they only brought eight." Crono would have hugged the man if he could have pushed himself to his feet. He heard Robo run towards him, and then the refreshing cold of the cure beam. His aches and cuts began to recede, his body stitching himself up at an accelerated rate. Crono stood up, feeling as if he hadn't eaten in a day and a half. It brought Luccas theory about his healing beams somehow being related to the enertron technology. He looked to what was left of the five. He was surprised to say the least, at only one of them moving, and that one obviously on his last legs. He was leaning on his sword heavily, and glaring at Magus.

"You won't get away with this. " The man said through gritted teeth. The shadow mage only flashed his sharp canines. As the man raised his sword for what he knew was his final movement, Magus moved faster than the man could probably trace, split his gut wide with a sickles slash, Magus spun quickly, taking a second swipe for good measure. The mystic wiped his blade clean, and hid it in the dark recesses of his cloak, before walking over to the Rainbow. That blade too, was cleaned, before tossed lightly back to its owner.

"We should head back to the camp and wake everyone up. " Magus said as the katana slid into its sheath. Robo seemed to be analyzing Crono for further or yet unhealed injury.

"Affirmative. We need to determine the threat before we neutralize it. Also, leaving the others unaware may prove hazardous to the health of our allies." Robo proved logical as always, supporting Magus this time. Crono nodded, he needed to rest and let Lucca know he was okay.

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In short order, the camp was awoken. Lucca was asking for details about the fight and the men. Robo was recounting everything to her, Ayla was shouting about beating the men to a pulp. Magus and Glenn were talking quietly away from the group, and Marle was throwing herself at Crono, who was standing next to Lucca. He was ignoring the princess as always. The swordsman was watching Magus and Glenn, wondering what they were talking about. Their discussion came to an end and the knight walked towards the group, followed by his arch enemy. Crono frowned, trying to remember when the pair started working together like that. Glenns voice cut off his train of thought.

"Listen everyone." His voice rang out, stopping the other conversation, and silencing both Ayla and Marle. "We will be fighting a group of Mage Hunters, they will most likely have numerous vests, so don't depend on your magic. We won't be able to push them out if we all go after them one group at a time. We need to split up into two groups."

"It isn't exactly ethical to go hunting after humans. " Lucca cut in, hands on her hips as she watched Glenn and Magus carefully, it seemed she had noticed as well. Crono didn't nod, he simply looked down, he was thinking about what the Mage Hunters had been planning for him. He couldn't agree with Lucca this time.

"Lucca, its either that or we run from them, its their job to kill people who use magic. These hunters don't just kill people who use magic. You don't know what they're like, you don't have any in your time. " Glenn said, his eyes meeting hers, both were intense, but Lucca looked away first. She sighed, then nodded. Magus smirked.

"To be the hunter or the hunted.. there is nothing else. " He said, before closing his eyes, and leaning against a tree, his arms folded across his chest as usual. Calm, and collected. 


	3. The Hunters

Disclaimer: all proper nouns belong to squaresoft. I don't own the rights to Chrono trigger, and if I did, Marle would have died and it all would have been for the better. Of course, Robo'd be an android with all the outdoor plumbing and the cut scenes would be XXX.

A/N: me tired. not sleep for several days. no coffee. Me shut up and write now. Now that I have some form of caffeine in me, I will point out, that yes, I know Glenn lost his old English accent. I figured if he can help take down an interplanetary menace he can drop his accent so his desired mate understands him. It may come back into play later.

Also, I am sorry for the extreme wait. I've been zoning off and Christmas snapped back into reality, I am sorry and will send a written apology to all who reviewed my fic, If I become questionable again, anyone interested in this fic, send me a letter at ArcadiavictimX@aol.com

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italics=thought.

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Chapter Three: The Hunters

At those words, Crono couldn't repress a shiver, the way it was said, it wasn't especially cold or harsh, but the way Magus said it screamed experience. His attention snapped back to Glenn as he continued.

"I suggest that the first party be Magus and Crono. The next should be myself and Lucca. The rest of you make up the third group. We meet back every hour and a half." Glenn said, and Crono couldn't help but frown. He was beginning to think they were up to something. He realized he wasn't the only one as Lucca walked forward, hands on her hips as she investigated Glenn, and then Magus. It was exactly the way she did it to him when she thought he was hiding something. Crono barely held back a grin.

"Out of curiosity, why did you pick those couplings? " Lucca asked carefully, watching Glenn's eyes with tightly pursed lips. Glenn looked down at her, as if thinking of something for a few seconds, then he answered.

"Both Crono and Magus are physically strong as well as magically adept. Ayla and Robo will balance out Marle. Since you still haven't worked the bugs out of the wondershot, I put you with me for the Flare Frog technique." He answered carefully, trying not to leave his theory full of holes. Naturally, Lucca being Lucca, found one.

"Wouldn't it make more sense for me to be grouped with Ayla and Robo to balance out the instability of my wondershot?" Lucca smiled triumphantly as Glenns face fell ever so slightly, but the knight picked it up as if nothing happened.

"I suppose that makes more sense." Glenn grumbled as Lucca switched places with Marle. She was in a bad mood, but for a more petty reason, of course, she was much louder as well.

"I WANT TO BE WITH MY CRONO!" Marle a whine in the form of a scream, directed at Glenn. Her hands in fists as she leaned forward at an angle which took away the purpose of the few flimsy garments she wore. Crono scratched his head, he may have lived in Guardia, but she wasn't queen yet, hopefully, she never would be.

"I don't remember him agreeing to that wench." Magus said in a low voice, his gaze unblinkingly focused on Marle, his face serious. Crono jumped at his voice, he hated when the dark mage did that, popping from one place to another.[1] Marle turned to him next, red faced. 

"SHUT UP YOU... BIG DUMB IDIOT!" She screamed, once more bending over red face, and managed to defeat the purpose of her overly tight shirt completely. Magus calmly tightened his glove.

"Don't strain yourself princess. I understand that you require less oxygen than ninety seven percent of living things, but if you don't breathe you'll forget your few useful spells." He closed his eyes, then turned slowly. "Come on Crono, before she attracts any more attention from unwanted parties."

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Once more, Magus thanked his biology for his ability to filter out loud noises and keep his sensitive hearing working properly. He could still hear the whore whining. He couldn't understand why she thought Crono was hers, he didn't remember the redhead returning her obvious advances. Truly, that girl needed to learn the meaning of subtle. 

His mood was alarmingly good for him, since Crono did follow him, instead of staying, like Magus had ever doubted it, no one wanted to listen to Marle. He had to stop himself from chuckling at Glenn's luck. Completing their deal might be harder than he initially predicted. Lucca was too intelligent to sneak things past her easily. Glenn did have good taste, the dark wizard had to agree, if he was so inclined, he might think her a potential mate, but Magus' eyes were focused on a certain red headed swordsman. Besides, she was right for Glenn, even though the dark mage hated to admit it. He was thinking too much and Magus knew why he was thinking too much. 

He began to focus on his surroundings more intensely. It had been uneventful so far, neither had seen hide nor hair of the mage hunters. His eyes focused on Crono, the boy ahead of him, by maybe a foot, his hands placed to unsheathe that super sharp katana in an instant. He was tensed, and even through the gi, Magus could see the contours of the well and rapidly developed muscle. Here he was, alone, with his hopeful love. Idly, he noticed the time traveling and all the monsters he had been forced to slay had done him good. Certainly much better than waving around the wooden sword he'd been practicing with. 

"I haven't seen a monster in this entire forest. " Magus grumbled, mainly to take his mind off of it. That was usually a bad sign, if there wasn't any of the native monsters, there was usually something worse. Crono nodded. "I don't like that." They sat in the silence for a few minutes, before they slowly moved forward in unspoken unison. Muscles loose, the tension of battle ready to take form at the slightest reason for worry. Magus could focus, even while admiring the red head in front of him, every little detail. Magus stopped as something suddenly struck home.

"Crono.. stop." He said mildly, and the swordsman spun, eying him in askance. Magus moved a little closer. "we should head back now.. It is almost time to check in with the rest." The sheer proximity of his infatuation near drove the wizard insane. He could smell the sharp, clean, arousing scent of his living fantasy. Magus forced himself to turn. The swordsman relaxed, and joined his comrade's side. Crono cocked his head to the side. He too could probably hear the blonde screaming even at their distance. 

"My best guess, is that she attracted all of the attention." They were making good time, simply because the lack of creatures to slow them down. Magus couldn't wait to have another chance to conspire with his amphibian compatriot. 

Not to say the silence wasn't eerie, in fact, it kept him on edge, even more so was the man he had to protect at his left side. Magus inhaled deeply.. and tasted woodsmoke. Immediately , his arm shot out to his side, stopping Crono in his tracks. Magus motioned towards the trees, and the swordsman nodded. Quickly, both were in the tightly packed branches, traveling forward, within eyesight, but on opposite sides of the path. The scent increased, and he could tell Crono found the woodsmoke as well. He wasn't sure of Crono's eyesight in the night, and there was no way to tell him to watch for sentries. Magus saw one, which meant there was at least one more.

Once more, the dark wizard thanked his heritage, being able to see better than any human in the night made sneaking up on his sentry much easier. He pulled his scythe out, and permanently silenced the hunter with a blade in his vocal chords. Magus slung the body over a branch, wiping his sickle clean. He looked across the clearing, seeing the younger male separate head from body. Magus' eyes widened as the head began to fall toward the path. He flew across the path, just barely grasping the decapitated head by its hair and throwing it as far as he could in the opposite direction.

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Glenn muttered to himself as he wiped his broadsword clean on a dead enemies shirt, before sheathing the blade. His ears were ringing hard and her constant shouting wasn't helping. He silently thought to himself 'By the gods, why do I have to suffer so... please! just quiet her for a few moments.' He looked up just in time to see what looked like a head fly over his own. He turned just an instant too late before a bloodied head smash directly into Marle's face. Her mouth wide open, bent over. She was finally quiet, as she rushed towards the lake. Glenn smiled, as he looked skyward. 'Thank the Gods' (karma)

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Magus watched the people at the campfire. All of them were mage hunters. Crono was close to his side, frowning, and obviously deep in thought as he concentrated on the numbers at the enemy camp. There was six men for each of them, plus one, who looked to be the boss, and probably much stronger than the rest. He had no weapon, but he was built like an ox, and just about as ugly. Magus heard something running before the rest of them, and he looked to the other end of the clearing, just to see Marle run past the edge of the fires light. 

"That was their Ice Witch. Blue team, go after her, and two from red and yellow, just in case its a trap." The leader barked out, and eight of the men started running after her. Magus shared a grin with his ally. 

"Give them a few minutes, we need them far away, no way could we fight against them all." Magus whispered, while silently praying for her to be caught and killed. A few minutes passed, and they moved in unison, Magus casting his ice spell, and Crono hitting the ground as he went straight for the yellows, who were just coming out of the effects of the magic. Both were dead in one swift movement. Three to two were much better odds, since all of the others were weakened. Crono began to chant his Luminaire, and the mage stepped in between him and his attackers. The two red team members, who now had their long swords unsheathed, looked ready to fall over by themselves, while the leader looked fine. The two reds charged, with what looked like the X-strike, but not very well coordinated. All Magus had to do was take a step back, and the two swordsmen glided to either side of both him and Crono. The leader escaped just before the lightning mage blasted his henchmen to the gods themselves. 

Crono cleaned and sheathed his sword, looking meaningfully at Magus. The wizard shook his head, putting his scythe away. Magus turned his back on the wreckage, trying to divine the correct direction, as he found it, he jerked his head in the right direction.

"There is nothing we can do, they have too great of a head start." Beginning to walk towards their camp, Crono joined him at his side once more. Walking carefully through the rubble, heading quickly. Of course, the best place to wait would be where they set up as a meeting spot. The pair made it to the designated spot with no further trouble.

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They had been waiting almost fifteen minutes before Magus shifted. Crono, was sitting with the back to the tree. As close as he could get to the wizard and not tip off his feelings. He wasn't sure how Magus would react. He couldn't tell Magus himself. Physically he could, but if he spoke, the man might come back. He couldn't speak until that man was dead. He knew how Lucca would react, she would be happy he finally found someone. The others were questionable, but he also didn't want Marle to know. She might try to do something about it.

Crono stood up and dusted himself off. Magus nodded to him, and he looked towards the clearing. He heard the footsteps a few seconds later. A very weathered looking Glenn, Lucca, Robo, Ayla, and sopping wet and shivering Marle. 

"What'd you do frog, take her bobbing for oxygen?" Magus replied to her appearance, speaking from the shadow, otherwise unmoving. He raised a glove delicately to brush a strand of hair from his face. That movement always near drove the red head over the edge.

"She attracted all the attention in the whole damn forest with her shouting." Muttered Glenn as he sat near the fire Magus had magically produced. "Until that gods got tired of her incessant shouting and silenced her with a decapitated head." Magus' rich chuckle seemed to warm Crono in a way he wasn't used to.

"I wouldn't quite call myself a god, but I do have a tendency to smite things I don't like." The knights eyes were suddenly glued to Magus, a smile on his face.

"You did that?" When the wizard nodded, Glenn burst out into laughter, as did the rest of them. Marle ran towards Crono, almost tripping over the firewood. She dove on the swordsman, sopping wet. 

"I'M COLD! WARM ME UP!" She ordered. Crono frantically tried to find escape. Magus snarled at her, he seemed to hate the blonde more than the rest of them for some reason. A bright idea struck Crono, and he stripped off his tunic, and gave it to her. He crawled out of reach and stood up. In only his flimsy T-shirt and his armor. 

"Lay near the fire, that would be the most efficient way to warm you up." Lucca said, hands on hips, annoyed. The tramp moved towards the flames in his tunic. The night seemed to get even colder as the metal quickly lost his body heat. The seconds melted into minutes, into an hour, and the night got even colder. Lucca was sleeping near Glenn, and Robo had powered down. Ayla had long since curled up near the fire. 

Crono couldn't sleep, it was too cold. He brought his hands to his arms, and began to rub, hoping the friction would warm them up. He felt a cloth weight on his shoulders, and looked back to see Magus, without his cloak. Crono shook his head and began to give the cloak back. Magus sighed.

"Fine, we'll both use it. Take off your armor." The wizard said gently, taking off his own armor, Crono did as well, setting it aside. They both crawled under the cloak. It wasn't meant for the both of them, and as the red head pondered how to keep them both warm. A gentle hand snaked its way around his waist, pulling him back into a slim muscular body. Crono tensed at first, but as he realized it was just Magus, he relaxed, leaning his head back into Magus' shoulder. 'If only Magus loved.. at least desired me.'


	4. Dreams and Reality

A/N: It's been a long while, and I can't find the original text documents on my hard drive, but I guess that doesn't really matter. Good thing I published them to the web. Anyways, I apologize for the long wait, but I had some pretty intense things going on in my life, and hopefully, I can just get back to routine. Review please, because I'm a little rusty in the genre.

Disclaimer: I do not own Chrono Trigger, or anything affiliated with it.

Chapter Four : Dreams and Reality

Chrono was sitting in his mother's kitchen again, listening to her hum contentedly while she worked. The sound of eggs frying, and he looked to the counter. There was something wrong, he knew it. The redhead was sore, all over, and he couldn't remember why. On the counter, he could see the eggshells, and his eyes widened as he noticed just how many were there. There was no way that his mother was just cooking for two people. His head whipped down and he looked at his feet, and was shocked to notice that they were almost a foot off of the wood floor. At that point, Chrono knew where he was, this day was just as vivid as every day he got to spend alone with his father. He could feel the bruises, on his hips and on his neck. They ached dully, and he glanced to his mother. The swordsman knew that she had to have noticed, but she seemed just as content and clueless as ever. The heavy footsteps sounded as his nightmare manifested, coming downstairs. Trapped inside the seven year old body, the swordsman tried to break free from the memories, wishing to change them, stop the dreams from happening, but he couldn't. His green eyes just lifted off of the table, and looked towards the stairwell, waiting for the demon to appear.

As his father rounded the corner, it was the most terrifying sight that he could have ever seen. It would have looked just like a normal man to everyone else. The man was tall with a broad chest and a tinge of red to his otherwise dark hair. A beard unshaved and scraggly covered most of his face. Even from that distance, he could spot the glaze to the blue eyes, and smell the alcohol. It was probably his imagination, because at that distance, there would be no way that he could smell whiskey on his father's breath. It didn't matter though, Chrono knew it was there. His father watched him carefully, smiling that perfectly innocent smile that plagued each and every one of the redhead's nightmares. Every time the swordsman thought of it, his heart pumped ice water through his veins and he felt weaker than he really was, even at the age of seven.

"Honey" rang his mother's sweet voice, as she strolled away from the frying eggs for a minute, to kiss his fathers lips. "I'll be going to the market after breakfast, and I have a few other chores to run, so I'll be gone for a while." Chrono looked towards his mother, and he wondered just how she never noticed. His father just smiled, nodded and looked towards Chrono.

"I'm sure me and m'boy'll find somethin' that'll pass the time." There was that sweet smile again. Chrono felt his skin crawl furiously, and he wondered why his mother never noticed.

Magus was almost asleep, serving as a silent guardian as he let the male in his arms have decent sleep for once. That was until his sharp nose picked up that cold and cutting feeling. It awoke him instantly, and he snuggled up to Chrono, trying to discern the matter. By the sound of his breathing, Magus judged the other male was asleep. He was unsure what to do, but the mage began to shake the swordsman, lightly at first, but when that was ineffectual, the dark mage shook him harder, a hand on the tanned shoulder. 

It was at the part of the memory, where his Father had that tight grip on his shoulder, and he was crying. The redhead almost screamed when he felt the hand not only in his dream but actually on him. He flew back to consciousness, eyes and mouth open equally wide in fear and he leapt from underneath the warm cloak. Scrambling on hands and knees, he crawled as fast as he could, until the swordsman could manage to get to his feet. He was running blindly in the forest before he could even realize that he was long from home, or that he left his Katana back at camp, along with his shirt. 

Magus scrambled to get up, to give chase, and he managed to get almost to the edge of the forest before the loud shot rang in his ears. As it blazed past his eyes at eye level, the mage froze, and glanced towards the source of the shot. He growled, his face darkening as even at that distance he could see the smoke streaming from the barrel of the Wondershot. As he glanced to Lucca's face, he could see that it was contorted in an image of fury and concern.

"Stay here! You'll just scare him more!" With that, the genius fled into the forest after her friend. Magus growled again, but glanced towards the forest. A sigh was ripped from his lungs, and he felt a need to follow still, but he just got dressed, prepared for the battle he felt in the air. The mage knew something bad was going to happen, but he needed to stay. The mage just didn't have enough information to help with the swordsman.

Chrono didn't know how long he had been running, but he was aware of the fact that he was utterly and completely lost. Had these been the familiar woods of his time period, he could have easily navigated his way out, but it was so different. He heard a noise, a twig snapping somewhere behind him. The swordsman reached for his sword, finding it gone.

"There you are Chrono. Don't do that. It's dangerous at night, and we have those hunters trying to kill us." It was Lucca's voice, calm and relaxed. His purple-haired friend approached him slowly. She placed a hand on his bare shoulder. "You had me worried.. it was one of those dreams again wasn't it.. We need to head back to camp, Magus is … well.. worried maybe.. something.. I have trouble understanding what he tries to convey. " She grabbed Chrono's arm, starting towards the camp, but almost as if on cue, several other twigs broke, and they glanced around. The redhead saw several humanoid shapes, but the most prominent one was the one that scared him the most. It was the boss of the mage hunters, but that was not the problem. His eyes widened at the build, at that dark hair, the blue eyes. The beard, Chrono tried to scream, but he couldn't. After all, he couldn't speak a word, the more noise he made, the worse it would be.

Lucca screamed, standing back to back with him, and he glanced over his shoulder. What he saw alarmed him even more. There were more behind him, more to either side, and when he looked forward, he saw even more. If Chrono had his sword, it would have been impossible for the pair of them to fight this many off, even if the men weren't equipped with armor that would block their magics.

"There's only two of them. We didn't even need to break out the good armor boys," chuckled the boss, tapping a finger to the glossy black metal. "This armor, makes us immune to all magic, no matter the element or style. We don't need to kill them right away, play with them a bit, let's make it fun."

As soon as Magus heard the scream, he grabbed the sheathed katana and was flying through the forest, scythe in his other hand. He head footsteps behind him, and a glance revealed a certain green haired knight. What really shocked the man was the fact that Glenn was managing to keep up on foot. It didn't matter, it was an ally. Magus sped up. It wasn't long before the footsteps faded. The dark mage had never moved that fast in his life, he was swerving wildly through the trees; he didn't even pause when he got to the clearing. What the mage saw, made his blood run cold. There was Chrono, on his knees, shuddering and terrified, although the men were not even near him yet. Lucca was unconscious, bleeding from her head, with her wondershot lying nearby.

"Their allies are here! Kill them now!" A hand axe went flying towards Chrono from his side, and the redheaded swordsman was too scared to notice. Magus couldn't make it if he flew, mostly because he found his way blocked by two knights in a strange black armor. He simply disappeared from his spot. The tomahawk was blocked by the haft of his scythe, as he planted the tip of the sheath deeply into the ground behind him. Chrono's eyes snapped up to the grip of the katana, and he saw those familiar leather gloves. He looked up into the mage's eyes.

"Chrono show them your strength. Stand and fight." Magus's quiet intensity spurred the swordsman to his feet, and their hands touched briefly as the redhead grabbed his weapon. Their eyes stayed locked, even as their enemies charged.


End file.
